When There's Nothing Left
by Dandragon Wolf
Summary: The boys have completed their journey. Now what will they do? Violence and possible shounen-ai. And yes, things have changed greatly.
1. Same Old Life

When There's Nothing Left  
by Dandragon Wolf  
  
This story takes place after Sanzo and Co. have completed their journey West and finished   
their tasks. I don't own Saiyuki and I don't write lemons for fear that my wife will kill  
me very slowly in some horrible way.  
  
"Honey, I'm home!"  
"In the kitchen!"  
Gojyo dumped his bag by the door and made his way leisurely to the kitchen.   
"It smells good in here." he said, leaning over and giving the cook a peck on the cheek.  
"Thank you." Hakkai said, amused, as he set the table.   
Hakuryuu meeped happily from his perch on the back of one of the chairs and Gojyo   
reached over to give the white dragon a pat on the head. They heard the slam of a door   
and stomping footsteps.  
"Goku" they said at the same time the words "I'm hungry!" resounded through the air.  
Grinning, Gojyo set a bowl of rice down at the same time an exhausted Goku reached the   
table. The boy quickly consumed all the food laid out before him and then the food that   
Hakkai and Gojyo set down after that. Finally he sighed contentedly.   
"How was your day?" Hakkai asked.  
"Exhausting." Goku replied on cue. "Those kids are going to be the death of me."  
Gojyo and Hakkai exchanged grins at that. That had been the idea when they had found   
Goku that teaching job. Kids seemed to be the only thing that could drain Goku's energy.   
Goku stood up and headed off to his bedroom with a mumbled "Good night" Hakkai and Gojyo   
finished setting the table and by the time they had the last plate set, the door opened   
and closed again. Sanzo strode into the kitchen, tossing his bag down on the ground   
nonchalantly.   
"Welcome home, darling." Gojyo said, throwing his arms around Sanzo's neck from behind   
and kissing the monk on the side of the mouth.   
He immediately had to duck out of the way as Sanzo fired a shot at him.   
"Gojyo." Hakkai said in a slightly scolding tone. "You're not supposed to bother Sanzo."  
Sanzo sat at the table and began to eat. Hakkai and Gojyo also sat down.  
"How was work, sweetheart?" Gojyo asked teasingly.   
Sanzo glared and returned to his food.  
"That's good to hear." Hakkai said with his usual smile.   
Gojyo arched an eyebrow at Hakkai, wondering how the green-eyed man always seemed to   
know what Sanzo wasn't saying. Sanzo finished his meal and started upstairs after   
grabbing his bag.   
"Good night, Sanzo." Hakkai said cheerfully.   
Sanzo made a noise in return.  
"Good night, dearest." Gojyo called after the monk.  
He was rewarded with a gun pointed at him and he quickly ducked behind Hakkai, knowing   
the monk wouldn't shoot Hakkai. Sanzo continued along his way to his bedroom and Gojyo   
breathed a sigh of relief. He rested his head on his arms that were around Hakkai's   
shoulders.  
"One day that monk is going to kill me." Gojyo commented.  
"Sanzo wouldn't do that." Hakkai said cheerfully.  
"Don't be too sure." Gojyo replied. "I just know that he's bored to death. He needs   
something to do. He's got an itchy trigger finger."  
"He works." Hakkai pointed out. "That's more than any monk usually does."  
"He needs a good fight." Gojyo decided.  
"And who's he going to find to fight in this place?" Hakkai asked. "It's so peaceful.   
People don't fight anymore."  
"Don't remind me." Gojyo groaned. "I'm bored myself. And if I didn't think Goku would   
kill me, I'd challenge the stupid monk to a fight."  
"Perhaps you should work with Goku." Hakkai suggested.  
Gojyo bit back a laugh.   
"I'm better with adults." he replied with a bit of a leer. "No, what we need is an   
adventure."  
"No. We've had enough of those." Hakkai replied.  
"Just think about it." Gojyo advised.   
He began pulling Hakkai towards the stairs.   
"Come on, let's get to bed." he said.  
"The dishes." Hakkai protested.   
"Don't worry about them, I'll do them tomorrow morning." Gojyo assured.  
"But they'll-"  
"I'll do them." Gojyo insisted, cutting off Hakkai's protests. "Come on."  
Hakkai allowed himself to be dragged upstairs. 


	2. Something New

Sanzo looked ready to kill someone. Not that that was unusual in itself, but when   
Sanzo really looked ready to kill someone, he usually was at the end of his rope. The   
only one suffering from Sanzo's grumpiness was Gojyo. Goku rarely ever saw them, except   
on weekends when he wasn't working, because he was too tired. Sanzo never got irritated   
at Hakkai unless the soft spoken man managed to point out one of the monk's bad points,   
which he rarely did. This left Gojyo as the only one with whom Sanzo could argue. One   
would think that work would be enough for Sanzo. It was why he was here in Gojyo's house   
rather than at a monastery. Gojyo suspected that there was more to the story than Sanzo   
wanting to escape the chaste, pure life but he didn's know why yet. And he didn't know   
why he put up with a man who was constantly trying to kill him and now always arguing   
with him. It was driving Gojyo crazy. He wanted nothing more than to slam Sanzo against a   
wall, beat the living daylights out of the gorgeous blond, and then throw-Gojyo quickly   
halted that train of thought as Hakkai entered the room. Hakkai gave him a sweet smile   
and pinned him with a brief knowing eye. Gojyo grinned off the scrutiny.   
"Hey, Hakkai." he said casually. "What's up?"  
"I'm making dinner." Hakkai replied. "Would you care to help?"  
"Love to." Gojyo replied, jumping up.  
As he grabbed a bag from Hakkai, an idea formed in his head. He almost dropped the bag   
in his excitement. Hakkai noticed his sudden elation as the two headed into the kitchen.  
"What is it?" Hakkai asked.  
"We're going out to eat tonight." Gojyo said firmly, a mischievous smile on his face.  
"But-" Hakkai began to protest as he set the bags on the table.  
Gojyo cut off Hakkai by yanking the brown haired man away from the table and twirling   
him in a circle.   
"Fine, we'll go eat." Hakkai agreed, amused by Gojyo's good humour.  
Gojyo grinned.   
"I knew you'd see things my way."   
  
Goku was eating happily while Gojyo and Hakkai chatted. Sanzo occasionally yelled   
at Goku or Gojyo but seemed content to just drink. They were seated in a somewhat busy   
inn, enjoying the rowdy atmosphere. Gojyo froze in mid-sentence and a large grin spread   
across his face.   
"Well, what a fine looking woman." he said.  
Hakkai shushed Gojyo but was also staring. Goku was too focused in his food to care and   
Sanzo just had no interest.  
"What a face!" Gojyo said.  
"She has purple eyes." Hakkai noted in interest, gazing over at Sanzo, who scowled and   
persisted in not looking.   
Gojyo's smile widened suddenly and Sanzo noticed.   
"What?" he demanded.  
He stiffened when a gentle hand touched his shoulder.   
"Excuse me, sir monk." came a soft voice. "But I was wondering if I could speak with   
you briefly."  
Sanzo gave an undecipherable noise, which was apparently taken for an affirmative   
because the person moved slightly to face Sanzo and Gojyo was grinning wildly. Sanzo   
glanced up in irritation and then his scowl died.  
"Kouryuu?"  
Gojyo watched with a mixture of delight and dismay as the woman he had been watching   
cupped Sanzo's face in her hands.  
"Kouryuu."  
"Anr-"  
Sanzo's words were cut off as the woman lurched forward and wrapped her arms around   
Sanzo's neck in a large hug. Gojyo's eyes bugged out and Goku choked on his food. Sanzo   
stiffened in surprise but, shockingly, he didn't pull away. Finally the woman pulled   
away, but remained in her precarious position on his lap.  
"Kouryuu, how are you?" the woman asked. "It's been years! You're so big I almost   
didn't recognise you. Oh."  
She stopped abruptly and put a hand up to touch Sanzo's mark.   
"I had heard but I never got to see...I suppose I should call you Master Sanzo now."  
She ended this tirade with a teasing smile that Gojyo really liked. Sanzo bore the   
whole thing stoically and though he didn't smile, he wasn't scowling either.   
"Anrui Kaien, what are you doing here?" he asked.  
"I'm on a mission." the woman replied.  
"A mission?" Sanzo repeated sceptically.  
"I do go on missions, you know." she said sourly.  
Gojyo cleared this throat noisily and Sanzo turned a scowl on him.  
"Hi." Gojyo said with one of his infamous smiles. "I'm Sha Gojyo, beautiful."  
Sanzo growled at the last comment.  
"I'm Cho Hakkai." Hakkai said, smiling warmly.  
"I'm Goku." Goku spoke up. "Who are you?"  
"Goku." Hakkai scolded.  
A smile spread across the woman's face. She was gorgeous with long, wavy black hair   
that was kept back in a loose ponytail. Her purple eyes were just like Sanzo's.  
"I'm Anrui Kaien." she said. "Both are my first name but please feel free to call me   
Anrui. Are you friends of Koury-I mean, Master Sanzo's?"  
"We're his travelling companions." Hakkai informed. "Are you an old friend, Miss Anrui?"  
Anrui blinked at Hakkai.   
"Please just call me Anrui." she requested.  
Hakkai nodded, realising that he had offended her somehow.  
"What's this mission?" Sanzo asked.  
"I've been sent to find you." Anrui said.  
"Him?" Gojyo said in disbelief.  
"Well, any Sanzo actually." Anrui admitted. "There are some monks who have taken over   
the monastery. And I don't know what they worship but they've locked up the other monks   
and demanded a Sanzo. The ones that escaped asked me to find one."  
Sanzo scowled.   
"Thank you." Anrui said with a gentle smile.  
"Please join us for dinner." Hakkai invited.  
"Thank you." Anrui said.  
She gently pushed at Sanzo until he moved over so that she could sit beside him. She   
started picking food off Sanzo's plate. He scowled but she just smiled cheerfully and   
deliberately looked at him while eating.  
"You haven't changed much." Anrui commented, feeding Sanzo a bit of food.  
Gojyo, Hakkai, and Goku raised their eyebrows, glanced at each other, and then at   
Sanzo. The monk's scowl deepened. Anrui noticed this exchange.   
"May I ask how you all know each other?" she requested. "I've never known Master Sanzo   
to have friends."  
"We're not his friends." Gojyo said. "We're his...co-workers."  
"Sanzo's the most important person in my life." Goku said with a smile.  
Sanzo scowled at him but it was ruined as Anrui leaned over and winked at him.   
"He's the most important person in my life as well."  
"We were asked to travel west with Sanzo to fight Empress Gyokumen." Hakkai informed.  
"Oh. You have to tell me about your adventures." Anrui said, looking fascinated.  
"Later." Sanzo growled.  
Hakkai noticed that everyone's plates were empty.   
"Would you like some more food, Anrui?" he asked.  
"No thank you." Anrui replied with a cheery smile. "I've had quite enough."  
Sanzo stood and so did Anrui. Hakkai placed money on the table and they all left the   
inn. Hakkai and Gojyo trailed behind Sanzo and Anrui, observing them as they walked   
ahead. Goku and Anrui seemed to be chatting quite animatedly. Something about Anrui   
struck Hakkai as strange. She was dressed in robes similar to Sanzo only they were dark   
green. She also seemed to have the black gloves and black undershirt that Sanzo had. He   
wondered if this had some kind of meaning among the other monks. Gojyo gave an aggrieved   
sigh.   
"Such beauty wasted on such a grumpy monk." he said.  
"I don't think that's the kind of relationship they have." Hakkai defended.  
Gojyo smiled at that.  
"I'm serious." Hakkai persisted.  
"Two beers says you're wrong." Gojyo said, feeling rather daring.  
Hakkai thought about it.   
"Alright." he agreed, pretty sure he wouldn't lose.   
The two shook hands and continued on their way.  
"I wish her robes were tighter." Gojyo said with a wistful sigh.  
It was true, the robes concealed too much of her body but her build suggested   
slenderness and her face suggested beauty everywhere. Hakkai, too, wondered at Anrui's   
features. He had learned that those robes hid a lot. No one would have guessed that Sanzo   
had muscles when he was robed. But there were no nuns* that dressed like that as far as   
Hakkai knew. He suddenly noticed the way Anrui held Sanzo's arm. It almost seemed as if   
Sanzo was leading her, or she was following him. He found this quite curious. He halted   
his observations briefly as they reached the house. Sanzo was leading Anrui inside when   
Hakkai realised something.  
"We don't have a spare bedroom." he said apologetically.  
"You can stay with me, Anrui." Gojyo offered with a leer.  
Sanzo scowled.  
"You can have my room." Hakkai offered. "I'll share with someone else."  
"Oh, don't bother." Anrui said. "I'll just share with Master Sanzo."  
Hakkai paled slightly at this statement.   
"Oh." he said weakly.  
Gojyo couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, regardless of Sanzo's glare.   
Anrui covered a yawn with her hand.   
"Perhaps you could tell us how you and Sanzo met in the morning?" Hakkai asked gently.  
"Sure." Anrui agreed, ignoring Sanzo's sour look. "Good night then."  
With a few tugging motions, Anrui had Sanzo leading her up the stairs. Gojyo stared at   
Hakkai.   
"You owe me two beers." he said.  
"That remains to be seen." Hakkai replied with a smile.   
Goku, not understanding the exchange, shrugged and headed for his own room. Gojyo slung   
an arm around Hakkai's shoulders.   
"You're in denial, buddy." he said. "But that's all right, you'll be proven wrong."  
Hakkai merely smiled a small smile.   
  
It was getting rather late in the morning and Hakkai decided that he should   
awaken Sanzo. He knocked gently on the door but received no reply. Shrugging, he opened   
the door and peered in.  
"Sanzo, it't time to wake up." he said.  
Sanzo was sleeping on his side, one arm used as a pillow. His other arm was curled near   
his abdomen. It took Hakkai a moment to realise that there was another black clad arm   
next to Sanzo's. Sanzo opened his eyes and glanced at Hakkai. Anrui's head suddenly   
appeared from behind Sanzo's body. She propped her chin up on Sanzo's shoulder and smiled.  
"Good morning, Hakkai." she said.   
Her black hair tumbled about her face adorably.  
"Good morning, Anrui." he replied automatically. "Breakfast is waiting downstairs."  
"Thank you." Anrui said with a smile.   
Hakkai closed the door and headed back downstairs. Gojyo glanced up at him and noted   
the particular non-expression on his face.  
"What's wrong?" he asked.  
"It seems I may owe you two beers." Hakkai said slowly.  
  
*Buddhist nun  
Yes, Anrui Kaien is my creation. 


	3. Stranger

"Kouryuu."  
The small blond child turned, an instinctive scowl on his face that melted when he   
realised who was calling him.   
"Yes, Master?" he said.  
"Come with me, I have a task for you." Koumyou Sanzo said.  
Kouryuu put his broom aside and followed his master. Koumyou Sanzo opened the door to   
the dinning hall and Kouryuu stared at the horde of hungry children there. They wore   
tattered remnants of clothes and ate with grubby fingers. He knew that they were from an   
orphanage that had fallen down recently and he had been doing his best to avoid them.   
"I'd like you to eat with them and get to know some of them, perhaps." Koumyou Sanzo   
informed.   
Kouryuu gave his master a look that held a mixture of anger, betrayal, and resignation   
but he did as he was bid. He knew what his master was getting at and he didn't like it   
one bit. He grabbed a plate of food from one of the serving monks and sat down at a   
fairly unoccupied table to eat. He tensed suddenly as a group of kids, with ill intent   
written on their faces, approached. They ignored Kouryuu completely and started harassing   
some of the other kids. Kouryuu ignored them at first but then his eyes narrowed as they   
took a plate away from a ratty haired child. What intrigued Kouryuu was that the child   
only waved skinny arms before giving up and didn't look at the kids at all. No crying or   
chasing after the perpetrators. It was as if the child was used to it. Curious, and   
sourly remembering his master's words, he headed over to the child and set his plate   
down. The child's head turned slightly and Kouryuu found himself staring at completely   
white eyes set in an exquisite face framed by matted dark hair.   
"Who is it?" the child asked in a soft voice.  
Kouryuu didn't reply immediately, struck by the oddness of the child.  
"I don't have any food to give." the child said because of the silence, looking a   
little worried.   
Kouryuu glanced at one skinny arm and then sat next to the child.  
"What do you want?" the child asked, a little fearful now.  
Kouryuu took a chunk of bread and pressed it against the child's thin fingers.   
Startled, the child's hand turned to feel the warm bread.  
"Eat." Kouryuu said gruffly.  
"Thank you." the child said shyly, breaking off a piece of bread and nibbling on it.   
"May I ask who you are?"  
"Kouryuu." he replied.  
"You're not from the orphanage. Are you an acolyte?" the child asked.  
"Yes." Kouryuu replied.  
"I'd like to be a monk." the child said wistfully.  
"Why? You'd just be like the rest of them." Kouryuu said sourly.  
The child laughed lightly.   
"That just insults yourself."  
Kouryuu shrugged, not really caring, and then realised that the child couldn't see it.   
The child suddenly held out some bread.  
"You aren't eating."  
Surprised that the child could tell, Kouryuu fell back on the defensive.   
"I'm fine." he said.  
"Please have something to eat." the child pleaded.  
Kouryuu grudgingly took the piece of bread.   
"I have half of it still." he assured.  
"Oh, I can't eat this much." the child replied. "But thank you so much. I haven't eaten   
this much in a long time."  
True enough, the child had only polished off half of the bread that Kouryuu had given.   
He offered more food but was neatly turned down. Kouryuu hopped off the bench and touched   
one bony wrist.   
"Come with me." he said. "There's someone I want you to meet."  
The child slowly got off the bench and was pulled along by Kouryuu. Koumyou Sanzo   
smiled as they approached.   
"What's this, Kouryuu?" he asked.  
Kouryuu wordlessly pointed at the child. Koumyou Sanzou knelt down in front of the   
child, blinking at the white eyes.  
"And who are you, girl?" Koumyou Sanzo asked gently.  
"I don't have a name." the child replied. "No one bothered to give me one. I only had a   
title."  
"Title?" Koumyou Sanzo repeated thoughtfully. "Are you a Seer?" he asked suddenly.  
"I was." bthe child replied. "But I never did very well so they never named me and then   
the temple was burned and I was sent to the orphanage. Can I be a monk?"  
Koumyou Sanzo blinked at the sudden change in topic.   
"Girls can't be monks." he replied. "Only nuns."  
The child's face fell.   
"I don't want to be a nun. I want to be a monk."  
The sad yet determined look on the girl's face made Koumyou Sanzo feel flustered.  
"I think we can try and make an exception in your case." he said hastily. "After all,   
you are a Seer."  
The smile he received was breathtaking and he knew that this girl would grow to be very   
beautiful.  
"Would you like a name?" he asked.  
"Oh, yes, please." the girl agreed immediately.  
She tugged on Kouryuu's hand suddenly.   
"Can the two of you help me?" she asked.  
"Anrui." Koumyou Sanzo said abruptly.   
"Kaien." Kouryuu said at almost the same time.  
The child looked thoughtful.   
"Anrui...Kaien...I like them both."  
Kouryuu looked slightly disgusted.   
"Then use both." he muttered.  
"Can I?" the child asked Koumyou Sanzou.  
The monk nodded, then realised his error and said yes.  
"All right. I'll use both. Thank you." the girl said.   
"We should get you cleaned up." Koumyou Sanzo said, fingering a greasy strand of hair.   
"Kouryuu, could you take her to the bathing area and get her some clean clothes please?"  
Kouryuu managed to look annoyed and nod obediently at the same time. He tugged gently   
on Anrui Kaien's hand and she allowed herself to be led away. Koumyou Sanzo watched them   
go and smiled to himself. 


	4. Sneaking in the Back

Hakkai handed Anrui a cup of water, which she accepted with a smile. She leaned   
back against Sanzo and sipped in a contented manner. Gojyo frowned slightly.  
"I hate to contradict such a beauty, but you don't seem blind." he commented.  
She gave him a mysterious smile while Sanzo snorted.  
"Thank you." she said.  
She didn't seem like she was going to offer any other explanation than that and Gojyo   
found himself wanting to scowl at the answer.   
"What can you tell us about these renegade monks?" Hakkai said, sensing that he should   
be steering away from this conversation.  
"Nothing much. I wasn't there when it happened and the other monks were too scared to   
remember what they looked like." Anrui said. "I don't think it matters that much though."  
Sanzo snorted. It never mattered.   
"Let's go." he said.   
They had wasted enough time. Gojyo did frown slightly this time. He wanted to know   
more and that bastard monk was starting to piss him off again. However, the others   
obediently got up to follow him out. He slowly got up, just to annoy Sanzo, and leisurely   
followed the others out the door. The jeep was ready and the others were already sitting   
in it. Gojyo hopped in and settled as close to Anrui as he could, considering that Goku   
was sitting next to her. He tried to subtly flirt with her as they drove but she and Goku   
were wrapped up in a conversation about Sanzo, much to Sanzo and Gojyo's annoyance. Sanzo   
had whipped out the fan once only to have Anrui remove it from his hands. Gojyo had   
listened to the chatter sullenly while Sanzo scowled fiercely at the road as they drove.   
They reached the temple without mishap and stopped at the nearby inn where the monks were   
currently living. Anrui and Sanzo stepped out of the jeep and had taken maybe six steps   
towards the house when the escaped monks all but threw themselves at their feet. Gojyo   
and Hakkai glanced at each other. They knew that Sanzo was import, being a Sanzo, but it   
seemed that Anrui was pretty high up in status as well. Gojyo, Hakkai, and Goku finally   
climbed out of the jeep, as it seemed that the excitement was over. They headed over to   
the fawning monks and Sanzo and Anrui. One of the monks grabbed Gojyo's hand.  
"Thank you for helping us." he said.  
Gojyo nodded and resisted the urge to jerk his hand away. Hakkai and Goku were being   
similarly treated so he had to go along with the treatment. What made his day was the   
highly pissed expression on Sanzo's face that meant he'd start shooting if they didn't   
let him go soon.  
"Please fill us in on the situation." Hakkai requested.  
"They just want a Sanzo. They won't say why. They've already killed two monks and they   
say they'll kill another one today if we don't get a Sanzo to them by nightfall." one of   
the monks said.  
"Well, that gives us plenty of time to negotiate then." Hakkai said.  
"Oh, thank you for coming, Master Sanzo." another monk said, practically slobbering   
over Sanzo's hand.  
"Not a problem." Sanzo said, extracting his hand and gritting his teeth in what was a   
polite smile, for him.  
"We'll walk from here." Anrui decided. "Please stay inside the inn until we come back."  
"Yes, yes. As you command." the first monk said.   
They bowed frantically at Anrui and Sanzo and scurried back in the inn while trying to   
look like they weren't scurrying. Gojyo couldn't help but curl his lip at their behaviour   
but he managed to hide it at the last moment by turning away. When all the monks were in,   
Anrui took a hold of Sanzo's arm.  
"This way." she said.  
The two of them started off into the woods. The others followed quickly. Gojyo managed   
to walk on Anrui's other side, with Hakkai beside him, while Goku walked on the other   
side of Sanzo.  
"So, Anrui, are you seeing anyone?" Gojyo asked.  
Sanzo snarled at the comment and probably would've hit Gojyo had Anrui not still kept   
the fan. Anrui gave a smile and a bit of a chuckle at that and she squeezed Sanzo's arm.  
"It's okay, Master Sanzo." she said teasingly. "No, I'm not seeing anyone."  
Gojyo grinned.   
"Well then, may I interest you in dinner after this is all over?" he asked.   
Sanzo was really pissed this time and he actually pulled Anrui away from Gojyo. Anrui   
chuckled again and pushed Sanzo.  
"Now, now, Kouryuu, behave." she scolded.   
She gave Gojyo an inscrutable look.   
"You may want to ask me after this is over." she suggested.  
Gojyo blinked at her tone and then shrugged. He could wait. He didn't like, however,   
the way Sanzo seemed to be smirking suddenly without actually smirking. Anrui stopped   
them a ways from the monastery.  
"Hakkai, you and Master Sanzo stall them from the front while Gojyo, Goku and I sneak   
in from the side entrance." she informed.  
Hakkai was surprised.   
"Why aren't you going with Sanzo?" he asked.  
"It's better if they don't know I'm here." she replied. "And you look more harmless   
than Gojyo or Goku does. At least, in the monks' opinion."  
"Let's go." Sanzo said gruffly.  
Surprised that Sanzo would follow orders so easily; Gojyo stared at Sanzo in disbelief.   
Hakkai wondered what Anrui's exact position was if it would be better the monks didn't   
know she was there. Then he remembered that she said she was a Seer. Perhaps she saw   
something that would make this work. He hoped so. He didn't know what her capabilities   
were and didn't want Gojyo and Goku to take the fall for any mistakes she made.  
"We'll double back on the main path. Give us ten minutes before going in." Hakkai   
cautioned.  
The five of them split up. Hakkai and Sanzo headed back where they had come from while   
Anrui, Gojyo, and Goku went to scan the territory. Hakkai glanced at Sanzo as they   
walked.   
"Is Anrui someone important?" he asked.  
Sanzo gave a shrug.   
"No." he said nonchalantly.  
"Then why is it better that they don't see her?" Hakkai inquired.  
Sanzo glanced at Hakkai oddly and then shrugged again.   
"Probably so they don't panic and kill the hostages."  
Hakkai paused briefly in his stride but recovered quickly. What did that mean? And what   
was that look all about? However, Sanzo didn't look like he was going to provide any   
answers so Hakkai just caught up and they continued along in silence. They reached a   
point where the main path would be concealed from the monks' eyes and began walking back   
towards the monastery. Sanzo donned his gold headpiece. As they neared the main entrance,   
they were ordered to halt. A young monk peered at them from a window in the door. His   
eyes widened at the sight of Sanzo. He shakily asked them to stand there and he ran off   
to summon their leader. Hakkai and Sanzo glanced at each other briefly. These monks   
weren't very good at this. Finally a tall, handsome young monk appeared. He eyed Sanzo   
carefully.  
"Are you really a Sanzo?" he demanded.  
Sanzo scowled but subsided before Hakkai had to intervene.  
"Why don't you come here and find out?" he growled instead.  
The monk stiffened at that and then his eyes narrowed.  
"You're Genjo Sanzo." he realised.  
Hakkai was going to confirm that but he noted how the monk didn't seem to like the   
idea. Sanzo, however, couldn't care less about the monk's reaction and glanced off to the   
woods in boredom. The monk smiled suddenly and it made Hakkai uneasy.  
"Come on in and we'll release the hostages." the monk said.  
Sanzo snorted.  
"Release half of them first." Hakkai said.  
The monk glared at Hakkai and then glanced at Sanzo. He licked his lips in a sudden   
nervous gesture and seemed to be weighing his options.  
"Just a second." the monk said.  
He disappeared from view. Hakkai glanced at Sanzo, who had lit up a cigarette. He   
wondered if he should say something to Sanzo but then decided against it. Sanzo would   
probably just pin him with an irritated glare and go back to his cigarette.  
  
That's it for now. The next part is coming soon...I hope. 


End file.
